Baker’s Secret Loaf Pan, reviewed

Specialty kitchen stores are a lot of fun to shop at, but my local grocery store actually has quite the extensive bakeware selection and the prices are very reasonable, which makes it a great place to pick up new basics. So when I needed to replace a loaf pan in my collection, the Baker’s Secret Large Loaf Pan available at the grocery store around the corner sounded like it might be a good choice – and the price was right. The loaf pan is nonstick, with a silicone-based coating that not only gives you a clean release of baked goods, but is safe to use with metal tools (such as spatulas) if you need them to give you a littler leverage getting your banana bread out of the pan.

The loaf pan definitely delivers when it comes to preventing baked goods from sticking. Everything that I’ve tried – using only a very light coating of cooking spray or vegetable oil to be on the safe side – has literally slid out of the pan. The very slightly rounded edges of the pan also mean that there are no places where a loaf can really get stuck. The pan bakes evenly, browns well and has a lip large enough that I can grasp it easily with potholders on. I also appreciate that the pan cools down very quickly after coming out of the oven and can be handled even without potholders in just a couple of minutes.

The only real downside to this pan is that it is slightly larger than the standard 9×5-inch loaf pan. It comes in at 9 1/2 x 5 1/4-inches, which means that your baking times may need to be very slightly reduced when using it for a recipe that has been designed to work in a 9×5-inch pan. This shouldn’t pose much of a problem, and checking your bread a few minutes early will prevent overbaking. It’s also a small price to pay if you’re used to struggling to get a loaf of banana bread or pumpkin bread out of an older loaf pan without leaving half of the loaf stuck inside the pan.

5 comments

I stay away from Baker’s Secret. I haven’t used their loaf pans, but I can tell you that their cookie sheets are cheap, cheap cheap. They warp in the oven and just aren’t as nice quality as other brands. Baker’s Secret stuff is priced around or under $10 though so I guess you get what you pay for. But for me, I’d rather use that money to invest in something of decent quality than waste it on something I’ll have to replace in a year.

Linda – Yes, it is very slightly larger. I just wanted to mention it to be on the safe side because with some things a couple of minutes will make a big difference (even though for banana bread it most likely won’t) and I wanted people to be aware.

Suzi – I know exactly what you mean about cheap sheet pans! Such a pain! That said, this particular loaf pan seems nice and quite sturdy and I doubt that I’ll need to replace it any time soon (fortunately!).

I made the mistake of using this tin to bake a breakfast apricot crisp with apricots and oats, and I ended up doing permanent damage to the non stick layer, which peeled away in spots and is now rusting.

All my bread loaves still pop out of the tin without an issue at all though, so I don’t have any other complaints other than the tin’s inability to age gracefully.

Does anyone find the loaf pan leaves a taste on the bread??? I used one for the first time last week and I found the pan had a smell while cooking. Also the bread had a flat funny taste to it. Anyone else experience that?